MATCH NOTES
- #10 BYU def. Santa Clara 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-14)
- BYU moves to 12-1, 1-0 WCC
- Santa Clara drops to 7-6 overall, 0-1 WCC
- Santa Clara, California
- Attendance: 342
- Box Score
- VolleyMob Top 25 (Week 5)
In their opening match of West Coast Conference play, the #10-ranked BYU Cougars downed the Santa Clara Broncos in straight sets behind 19 kills and four aces from junior outside Veronica Jones-Perry.
The Cougars also received significant contributions from junior setter Lyndie Haddock (27 assists), sophomore libero Mary Lake (10 digs) and senior middle blocker Cosy Burnett (4 blocks). Junior defensive specialist Sydnie Martindale collected a career-high tying nine digs.
“I loved the focus our team came out with right from the beginning of the match,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “We served tough and made it hard for Santa Clara to get in system. Roni (Veronica Jones-Perry) and Cosy (Burnett) both took some great swings. I’m proud of the way the team played.”
For Santa Clara, senior setter Kirsten Mead recorded her 10th double-double of the season (31 assists, 10 digs), and senior middle blocker Jensen Cunningham had a team-best nine kills, hitting at a .471 hitting clip.
Trailing 19-11 in the first set, Santa Clara came roaring back to cut the lead to 23-22 before the visitors went on a three-point run to seal the victory. With the Broncos leading 4-2 in the second, BYU answered with six straight to regain control. After three straight aces by Jones-Perry increased the margin to 13-5 edge, the Cougars went on to win the frame 25-17.
Jones-Perry picked up where she left off in the second, recording three kills early to help BYU build a 5-0 advantage they never relinquished on their way to a 25-14 victory in the third and final frame.
Santa Clara will host #25 San Diego on Saturday, while BYU travels up the coast for a Saturday tilt against San Francisco.
COUGARS WIN IN 3️⃣!!#GoCougs #BYUWVB pic.twitter.com/QgGqarrXM4
— BYU WomensVolleyball (@BYUwvolleyball) September 22, 2017
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: BYU Athletics
Jones-Perry helps No. 9 BYU past Santa Clara in WCC opener
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Junior outside hitter Veronica Jones-Perry helped No. 9 BYU women’s volleyball to a three-set win (25-22, 25-17, 25-14) over Santa Clara Thursday night to open West Coast Conference play.
“I loved the focus our team came out with right from the beginning of the match,” BYU head coach Heather Olmstead said. “We served tough and made it hard for Santa Clara to get in system. Roni and Cosy (Burnett) both took some great swings. I’m proud of the way the team played.”
Jones-Perry led the Cougars with 19 kills, including 10 in the first set, to go with four service aces. Lyndie Haddock set the team with 27 assists while Mary Lake collected 10 digs. Cosy Burnett had four blocks and Sydnie Martindale contributed a career-high tying nine digs in the win.
Jones-Perry gave BYU (12-1) its first three points of the first set on kills, helping propel her team to a 6-2 lead against Santa Clara (7-6). A McKenna Miller kill extended the advantage to five at 12-7 and a Haddock dump kill made it 17-10, forcing a Bronco timeout. The Cougars led by as many as eight at 19-11 before a 9-2 Santa Clara run brought it back within a point, trailing 21-20. BYU maintained the lead, eventually winning the set 25-22 on a Haddock solo block.
The Broncos took a 4-2 lead in the second set after a service ace. The Cougars countered by scoring the next six-straight points to go up 8-4. Three-consecutive aces from Jones-Perry made it 13-5, but Santa Clara went on a 3-0 rally to get back within five, down 15-10. A Burnett kill made it 22-15 and she followed that with a service ace to give BYU the set 25-17.
Three kills from Jones-Perry helped the Cougars to a 5-0 advantage to start the third set. A pair of Bronco errors extended the lead to seven at 12-5, and another Santa Clara error put BYU up by double digits at 18-8. The Broncos went on a 4-1 run late, but the Cougars closed out the set 25-14 on a Santa Clara service error.
BYU stays on the road next, traveling to play San Francisco Saturday, Sept. 23, at noon PDT.
Courtesy: Santa Clara Athletics
Volleyball Knocked Off by No. 9 BYU in WCC Opener
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Veronica Jones-Perry posted a match-best 19 kills to help lead No. 9-ranked BYU to a 25-22, 25-17, 25-14 sweep of Santa Clara volleyball on Thursday in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams.
The Cougars (12-1, 1-0) struggled to take the opening set, but gradually took control in the final two. They posted a match-best .400 attack percentage in the third set after scoring the first five points.
Santa Clara’s Anna McCreadie posted one of her six kills in the match to cut the deficit to 15-8, but the Cougars reeled off the six points, including a pair of kills from Jones-Perry.
Kirsten Mead posted a match-high 31 assists and collected 10 digs for her 10th double-double of the season for the Broncos (7-6, 0-1) who posted a .177 attack percentage and had eight service errors.
Jensen Cunningham had a team-best nine kills and registered a .471 hitting percentage for Santa Clara, which faces another nationally-ranked opponent on Saturday when No. 17 San Diego visits Leavey Center.
The Broncos had a chance to swipe the opening set from BYU, which entered the match ranked 14th in the NCAA with 129.0 total blocks and 20th with 2.87 blocks/set.
Santa Clara trailed 19-11 before making a furious run. A Taylor Odom kill started a run of six straight points that cut the deficit to 20-18. McCreadie’s kill chopped the lead to 23-22, but BYU’s Lyndie Haddock set up a kill and blocked Allison Kantor’s attempt to close out the first set.
Jones-Perry had eight of the first nine kills for BYU and 10 overall in the initial set. Haddock had 27 assists and five digs in the match.
In the second set, the Cougars snapped a 4-all tie by scoring nine of the next 10 points and the Broncos never got closer than five the rest of the way.
QUOTABLE
“We just have to reset on our passing and I saw some really good things like Taylor Odom, she’s playing probably the best I’ve seen her in the past year or so. Jensen Cunningham is playing great, attacking the ball, and being a great leader out there in the court. Kirsten Mead is being tough, she has to chase those passes down the court but she’s playing well too. So we have some good things going we just, like I said our passes weren’t there and we will figure that out tomorrow to get ready for Saturday.”
Head coach Jon Wallace
NEXT UP
The Broncos play No. 17-ranked San Diego at 1 p.m. Saturday in Leavey Center. Santa Clara will face three ranked opponents in a four-match stretch. The Broncos defeated then ninth-ranked Kansas, 3-2, on Sept. 15.
Leave a Reply